Finish the Song
by Jubei-chan
Summary: Events that led Meryl to join Vash on the cliff under the stars. A song fic, in a round about way. Please read and review. Special Rem appearance too!


Finish the Song Timeframe - Two nights: The night that Meryl joins Vash on the rocks and sings "Sound Life", and the night before. Rating - G: for the lack of anything offensive ^_^ Pairings - Meryl and Vash: implied Disclaimers - I don't own Trigun, or the song "Sound Life", or any mentioned characters. Notes - Things between :: :: are Meryl's thoughts - *** notes that the day has changed - === notes that the setting has changed  
  
Finish the Song  
  
Meryl and Milly were exhausted from a hard day of work. Milly from working the well, and Meryl from serving at the bar. Vash had been up and about, but never going farther than the front porch of the rented out house. The ten days that he had been sleeping was torture for the Insurance Girls. Questions arose of whether he would come out of his sleep or just stay comatose in bandages. Although Meryl was a good deal smaller than the gunman was, she was able to change his bandages herself while Milly was out working. Also, she hardly ever slept. She was always peeking in on him, and putting a tentative ear close to his mouth to make sure he kept breathing. The day he had finally awaked was a relief for his two caretakers. Meryl had found him first. But he had changed. The guilt was too much for Vash. And the pain that she shared with him was too great to stay and witness his breakdown. The following days were hard to live through. One moment the girls thought he would be back to his normal self, laughing and smiling as he always had. But with the drop of a pin, or a flash of sunlight, he would tear up and wail to high heavens. Things were certainly not back to normal.  
  
This night was the same as the ones before. Milly was in a deep and comfortable sleep in her bed just across from Meryl's. Meryl checked on Vash as though he was still knocked out. As for Meryl she was irregularly sound asleep now. Though it was no doubt that worries and deadlines filled her dreams.  
  
A voice.  
  
"So... On the first night, a pebble falls to the earth from somewhere."  
  
::What?:: Meryl awoke to the melodious voice of a woman. The sweet tones filled her room. Her tall companion though did not stir from the sounds. ::What is that song? I've heard it before.:: The young woman planted two bare feet to the wooden floor beneath her. She tightened a hold to her thin white night shirt. ::Where is that coming from?::  
  
Again.  
  
"So... On the second night, The pebble's children hold hands and sketch a waltz."  
  
::There it is again.:: Meryl stood up and scanned the room. Nothing seems suspiciously out of place or different. She also quickly glanced to her pink travel case; her derringers were not far from reach. ::If this is a prank from Vash, I swear he is going to get an earful come sunrise! I don't care how beat up he is.:: The song could no longer be heard. The woman's voice had stopped. Meryl paused in the cold of the night and reevaluated the situation. ::I must have been hearing things. Milly didn't even stir. Well, she can sleep through even the worst Typhoon. It must have been Vash's doing.:: She settled herself once again beneath her sheets, and resting her head on the pillow behind her. She stared at the ceiling in deep thought. ::A pebble? How can you sketch a waltz? Only Vash would think of such odd things.:: She clenched her fists beside her and vowed to somehow figure out just what Vash was up to. After much time spent cursing her blond gunman companion, Meryl allowed her thoughts to settle once again and drift to sleep.  
  
The voice.  
  
"Sound Life"  
  
Meryl jolted back up. Scanned the room once more, and cursed Vash more than once more as well. She shrugged the intruding voice off and went back to sleep.  
  
***  
  
A voice in the dark.  
  
"So... On the first night, a pebble falls to the earth from somewhere."  
  
Meryl was ready for him this night. She leaped from the bed and darted for the door to the hall that led to his room. No one was there. Her little feet then sailed her to the closet door. She flung the door open with one hand and held the other in a clenched fist ready to clobber any intruder and prankster. Again, no one was there. ::Come out Vash the Stampede, I know you're behind this. I swear, the trouble I go through to keep you out of trouble and this is the thanks I get.::  
  
Again.  
  
"So... On the second night, The pebble's children hold hands and sketch a waltz."  
  
Meryl heard the woman's voice again. Though now she became calmer. Her tiny fists released. Thoughts of pummeling Vash subsided. Suddenly she was very tired. ::My legs, they feel so weak. Why am I so tired?:: She scrambled to reach Milly's bed for some assistance in her flash of lucidity. She called her name out, but the sound only stuck in her throat. ::I need to lay down.:: Her breathing was not labored or obstructed, but it was deep and cleansing. She was lightheaded and only wanted stability, something that her bed surely could offer her. As seconds felt like hours to Meryl she finally reached her bed. Like the night before, she resigned from her witch- hunt, and in her mind "Vash hunt", and crawled between the covers of her bed. ::What was that? It was the same voice. How can Vash be doing this?::  
  
Soothingly.  
  
"Sound Life"  
  
::Yes.:: She found her voice. Her eyelids dipped to close. She sang to herself, and her seemingly unconscious roommate, " So... On the third night, The children of the waltz cause ripples on the face of the world." She took in a breath and continued. "So... On the fourth night, the children of the wave spray the shore." With the last line she fell into a deep sleep.  
  
The voice finished.  
  
"Sound Life"  
  
===  
  
"Meryl? Meryl? That is your name right? Wake up, Meryl."  
  
Meryl fluttered her eyes as she unconsciously heard her name being called.  
  
"Meryl?"  
  
::The report doesn't have to be sent for another hour.:: She groaned at the intrusion, "Don't bother me until I've had my coffee."  
  
"So..."  
  
Meryl jolted upright at this word.  
  
"Hey, So... You are awake. That's good to see."  
  
"Huh? What? Yeah I am awake. You woke me up. Who are you?" Meryl questioned.  
  
"You were singing my favorite song?"  
  
"What?", Meryl snapped back. "I was singing your favorite song? I wasn't singing when you found me. I was sleeping!" She paused, "As a matter of fact, how did you find me? And where the heck am I?" She surveyed her surroundings; She had never seen a sky so blue on Planet Gunsmoke. ::Is that water?:: The environment she had awaken to was altered. It appeared that red silky confetti was floating about in the air. The material of the red substance was of a nature she had never seen. ::Are these flower pedals? I've only heard about these in stories.:: Reality snapped back into her mind. "Where is Milly? What did you do with her? Why am I not in our room?" She was near hysterics, until a new thought crossed her mind. ::Vash.:: "Where is Vash? If you hurt him, I swear to you... " She was cut off.  
  
"Vash? Vash. No, Vash is fine. He is sleeping since the last time I checked on him. And the last time you checked on him as well."  
  
"How do you know Vash? What do you want with me? What the hell is going on?"  
  
"Meryl, please, I am not going to hurt you."  
  
"Then explain yourself. Now!"  
  
"My name is Rem Saverem. I was born on the planet Earth a long time ago, the planet where all of our ancestors originated. I know that Vash has told you about his past. How long he has lived. What he is, and what he must do."  
  
Meryl nodded in agreement.  
  
"Well, as to answering the question of where you are. You are dreaming Meryl."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Rem giggled, "Yes, hard to believe, but I have been gone for quite some time now. I think it would be more of a shock to see me walking around during the day."  
  
Still shocked at the realness of this supposed dream, Meryl would not abandon her need for facts. "Ok, even if that is true, this is all a dream, what do you want from me?"  
  
"Meryl, Meryl, Meryl, Vash did say that you are all business."  
  
"What! That goof is talking about be?"  
  
Rem only giggled more. "Please don't be too hard on him. You now know how hard of a life that he has lived."  
  
Again Meryl nodded.  
  
"Yes, he has mentioned you." Rem's voice became quieter. "He also mentioned how determined you are to keep him and other people safe."  
  
"Well, that's part of the job of being an insurance agent."  
  
"Why do you follow Vash?" Rem sounded like a mother.  
  
"How do you mean?"  
  
"You follow Vash from town to town. Do you do that for work purposes, personal reasons, or a mixture of both."  
  
"I don't see the relevancy of the question. It is my job. Milly and I must see that minimal damage occurs where Vash the Stampede, the Humanoid Typhoon, is concerned."  
  
Rem gave the small woman a knowing glare. She had been around Vash long enough to know the draw he had on people, for good or bad. And she sensed only a genuine concern from the raven-haired woman. "Please tell me. What are your feelings toward Vash? Meryl, you must be truthful."  
  
No sound was heard. The petals settled to the liquidy floor below. The sky filled with more puffy white clouds. And Rem's hair was still. Meryl was in awe of her beauty, and wished that she had even one of her qualities. ::No wonder he loved her so much.::  
  
"Yes, he did love me. As I loved him also, as a guardian does to a child."  
  
"How did you?"  
  
"Meryl, answer the question. Please!"  
  
::I love him.::  
  
"Well then." Rem smiled for Meryl, very similar to one that Vash had adopted as his trademark. "Finish the song for me."  
  
Meryl now filled with confidence after affirming her feelings for the gunman, if only in a dream, finished the song to herself. ::So... On the fifth night, those shards strike the face of the earth over and over. So... On the sixth night, those signals bring travelers together. Sound life::  
  
Rem sang Meryl back to sleep, "So... On the seventh night, a weightless ship races to the sky. So... On the eighth morning, a song from somewhere reaches my ears. Sound life.  
  
===  
  
::I need to see him.::  
  
Meryl sprung from her bed and ran to find her clothes. Hastily putting on her white shirt, navy blue leggings, and white skirt she ran from the shared room without her boots. ::Dang it!::  
  
Rem's voice.  
  
"Sound Life"  
  
A pause. She heard Rem while she was awake. ::It wasn't a prank. But I am sure that Vash did have something to do with the intervention.::  
  
Calmly she turned on her heels and found her boots. After lacing them to the top, she made her way to Vash's room. But no one was there. ::Where could he be in his condition?:: Panic swept over her. ::I need to see you.:: She ran back to her room doubting her sanity. ::It was a dream. I spoke to her and I was in bed when we were through.:: She remembered Rem's final words to her. ::"Finish the song, Meryl." But how does it end? Rem?::  
  
Again.  
  
"Well then... A song that has recorded everything echoes to the new sky."  
  
::Yes, that's it. Sound Life. Thank you Rem. I will help him. I will finish the song.::  
  
After a minute of contemplation, Meryl walked to the front door of the house and gazed across the starlit landscape. There atop a cliff, where he was found before, sat Vash. She could see his droopy blond hair whip in front of his eyes. He winced each time a lock of his own hair would slash against the bandages on his cheeks. ::I'm coming Vash."  
  
She made her way to the precipice of the rocks and laid her eyes on the most complicated, and most beautiful man she had ever known. ::I love him.:: She took a step closer.  
  
" So... On the first night, a pebble falls to the earth from somewhere. So... On the second night, "  
  
Meryl joined in, " So... On the second night, The pebble's children hold hands and sketch a waltz."  
  
::I'll do my best to finish the song Rem. Thank you.::  
  
+End+  
  
Thank you for reading, this is my first actual fanfiction story. I love Rem, and I love Meryl, and I definitely love Vash ^_^! I always wondered who taught Meryl that song. So, I just imagined that Rem did in a dream, as that is the only place we see her, aside from a flashback. More end notes ... I have written three Trigun related poems, and mainly write non- fanfiction poems. I hope that this is well received by fans. I would love critiques, as I know that it is best to receive suggestions from peers. Please if you must flame, email them to me directly, and do not clutter the review section with non-constructive comments. Back to the less serious stuff. I don't see how I would be able to continue this story, although I am itching to write a little love fic between Meryl and Vash! The fun-ness of it all ^_^! So, I'll be hearing from you guys! Ja Ne! Love and Peace! 


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